Friday, June 06, 2008

Celtics vs. Lakers? What is this, 1986? The NBA needs to quit showing reruns. Here's an old NBA pack for an old NBA final. I got this pack in a package from our Canadian friend, Brian. Thanks Brian! It just hit about 98 degrees here today in Hotlanta, so The Great White North is looking pretty attractive right now. By the time the '91 Fleer set came around, People were actually collecting basketball cards again so the days of rare, non-overproduced basketball cards was over. Somebody donated a case of this stuff to the local Goodwill, and you can pick up a box for 10 bucks if you wanted. I like this set though, it's pretty busy and gaudy and obnoxious and awesome. Let's rip a pack and see if we can pull a Doc Rivers in honor of the Celts' game 1 victory.

This is definitely a Celtic pack, with Danny Ainge in an unintentionally hilarious photo and Dee Brown showing off his slam dunk prowess. I never understood the early '90s slam dunk subsets. Why save the cool photo of a dunk or a subset or insert and have the guy shooting a free throw on his regular card. This set had a really strange base card design, a blue pattern of Jerry West logos framing a photo that would often lean into the blue, with red and gray stripes on top and bottom for some reason. I always thought it looked slick, but I'm sure someone out there sees it as an affront to decency. The backs are really nice though, two photos and full stats on a wood floor background. No megastars in here, but I'm a fan of Bulldog alum Willie Anderson, Terry Porter was always a solid player for the Blazers and everybody loves Muggsy Bogues. The back of the pack has an ad for a 3-D plastic stand up card where the player photo juts out from the background. I thought it was stupid at the time but now I'm kicking myself for not getting a stand up 'Nique for $4.99 and three wrappers.